BEST Beef Tenderloin Recipe
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This Beef Tenderloin recipe makes a decadent, celebratory roast that’s tender and juicy with a delicious brown crust. Our time-tested method and simple tips deliver the best beef tenderloin you’ll love for holidays and special occasions!
Perfectly cooked Beef Tenderloin is absolutely delicious! It’s a costly cut of beef that always takes center stage and is usually served for Christmas, holidays, and special celebrations. My recipe uses two ingredients, so the key to its delicious results lies in the steps and tips I share for preparing it. Those steps produce the best beef tenderloin, which melts in your mouth like butter!
Why you’ll love this family favorite recipe!
Beef tenderloin makes a special meal to prepare, serve, and share with friends and family. There are so many ways to prepare a whole beef tenderloin, but one thing I’ve learned over the years of preparing it – simple really is best.
Once I learned the simple tips I share with you in my recipe, I haven’t looked back. People always compliment it, most go back for seconds, and I am always asked for the recipe. I think you’ll love it, too.
BEST Beef Tenderloin Recipe
This recipe makes the best Beef tenderloin with just two ingredients and simple preparation. This beef tenderloin recipe couldn’t get much easier!
It’s one of those meals that my entire family looks forward to all day. It’s simple to prepare and delivers big flavor that is sure to impress your family and guests. They’ll swear you were in the kitchen working away over it for hours.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Easy recipe. This amazing beef tenderloin recipe is so easy! In summary, season the beef, refrigerate to brine, roast, then slice, serve, and enjoy.
- Two ingredients. You’ll use my favorite house seasoning blend and beef tenderloin. That’s it.
- Tender, juicy, flavorful beef every time. A beef tenderloin that is melt-in-your-mouth tender and full of flavor in every bite!
Tip for the Best Beef Tenderloin
Dry Brining is my top tip! I use my Stone House Seasoning (which contains kosher salt) for the incredible flavor it adds to the tenderloin. If you don’t have the ingredients for the seasoning, the most important thing to do is use kosher salt. I give the steps to Dry Brine to follow.
Why Dry Brine?
- It seasons the beef before cooking. It highlights the flavor of this cut of beef.
- Makes a delicious crust on the beef. It dries the outside of the tenderloin, sealing in moisture and allowing for a perfectly browned, flavorful crust.
- It naturally tenderizes the beef. The brine causes the muscle fibers to begin to break down, making the meat tender.
How to Cook Beef Tenderloin
Our beef tenderloin makes such a delectable, memorable meal your family and guests will love!
Ingredients for Beef Tenderloin
- Whole Beef Tenderloin – Plan on two 2-inch filets per person. (If your grocer doesn’t keep beef tenderloin in stock, ask your butcher to order one so that you can pick it up a couple of days or so before you plan to serve it to allow for adequate prep time.)
- Stone House Seasoning – This is my family’s seasoning blend. It imparts incredible flavor to beef tenderloin, resulting in a showstopper dish. *You can use Kosher Salt ONLY instead of the Stone House Seasoning, or use kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Kosher Salt is important in the prep of the beef tenderloin.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Dry Brine the Beef Tenderloin
Make sure the beef is completely thawed. Pat the tenderloin dry with paper towels and place it on a rimmed baking sheet.
Season the tenderloin all over with Stone House Seasoning (or Kosher salt and/or freshly ground black pepper).
Once seasoned, wrap it tightly with plastic wrap and store it in the refrigerator for at least one hour or up to four days before cooking.
I’ve found that the longer I let the Stone House Seasoning rest on the beef, the more flavor it develops when cooked!
Before cooking, remove the beef from the refrigerator and let it stand for about an hour to reach room temperature.
The seasoning used to dry-brine the beef forms a delicious crust on the tenderloin as it roasts, always impressing.
Cook the Beef Tenderloin
You can prepare my recipe in the oven, on the grill (or smoker or Big Green Egg if you prefer a smoky flavor).
While the beef is standing to reach room temperature, preheat the oven or grill to 400°F.
Place in oven and using an internal meat thermometer, allow to reach 140 degrees in the thicker areas and 145 degrees in the thinner areas, about 45 minutes. *See note to follow if you desire more rare beef.
Internal Temperatures for Beef Doneness
Note: If you prefer your beef cooked to a different doneness, consult the temperature chart and remove the tenderloin from the oven when the desired internal temperature is reached. Otherwise, follow the recipe as written.
- 115º F – 120º F for rare
- 125º F – 130º F for medium rare
- 135º F – 140º F for medium
- 145º F – 150º F for medium well
*There are thicker and thinner areas on the beef tenderloin; check the temperature on both.
Then, remove the beef from the oven or grill, tent it with foil, and rest for about 5 to 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
Serve the Beef Tenderloin
After the beef has rested for a few minutes, remove the foil tent and place it on the serving platter. I garnished my platter with fresh rosemary.
No further seasoning is needed as the Stone House Seasoning (or kosher salt and ground pepper) was applied during the dry brining process and has soaked into the beef for flavor.
Slice only the number of filets you need for serving immediately. This helps to maintain the most moisture in the beef. As a rule of thumb, I plan for two 2-inch servings per person.
My family enjoys this served with Horseradish Sauce on the side.
Storage Tips
To store: Store any remaining tenderloin in an airtight food container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
To reheat: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the slices on a rimmed baking sheet covered with foil. Bake until each filet reaches 145º F.
What to Serve with this Recipe
Baked Potatoes with your favorite toppings
Looking for more celebratory main dish recipes? I think you’ll also love my Prime Rib Recipe, Roast Turkey, and Baked Ham.
Here’s my Beef Tenderloin Recipe. I hope you love it as much as we do!
Beef Tenderloin
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 whole beef tenderloin, Plan two 2″ filets per person
- 1 tablespoon Stone House Seasoning, *Or just Kosher Salt and/or freshly ground pepper in place of Stone House.
Instructions
- Place beef tenderloin on a rimmed baking sheet, pat dry with paper towels and season both sides of the meat with Stone House Seasoning. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour or up to 4 days before you plan on cooking and serving.
- Remove from the refrigerator, unwrap and allow to stand for about an hour to come to room temperature.
- Meanwhile, preheat grill or oven to approximately 400º F.
- Place tenderloin onto grill or in the oven. Allow the beef tenderloin to cook until it reaches 145º F when checked with an internal meat thermometer in the thinner areas and 140º F in the thicker area, about 45 minutes.
- Remove from grill and cover loosely with aluminum foil and allow to rest on the carving board for about 15 minutes prior to carving and serving.
Notes
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- 115º F – 120º F for rare
-
- 125º F – 130º F for medium rare
-
- 135º F – 140º F for medium
-
- 145º F – 150º F for medium well
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Enjoy!
Robyn xo
From the Add a Pinch recipe archives. Originally published in 2010.
Used this recipe with steak seasonings and rosemary. Was delicious. Christmas 2024
Hi Robyn, why would you have to do this if the meat is already cooked? Thanks!
“To reheat: Preheat oven to 350º F. Place slices on a rimmed baking sheet covered with foil. Bake until each filet is reheated to 145º F.”
Ally, you would follow these steps if your meat has been cooked and you are reheating it or reheating leftovers.
What size tenderloin do you think would be good for 8 people? Thank you.
Danine, I would buy a 4-5 pound whole tenderloin to feed 8 people. I try to have at least a 1/2 pound per person.
Not knowing size of tenderloin is not good. Is the temperature 350 or 400?
Sandra, you cook the beef tenderloin, whatever size, until it reaches the internal temperature as listed in the recipe. You caok it at 400º F and reheat it at 350ºF. Hope this helps.
I made this for Christmas and followed recipe precisely. It was a huge hit. Thank you very much. 🙂
Silly question maybe, but do you wrap the tenderloin in plastic after seasoning and then place on baking sheet or do you place on baking sheet and then cover with wrap (in this case only cover the top of the roast in plastic?
I wrap the entire tenderloin in the plastic wrap after seasoning and place it in the baking sheet, Katie. You want to wrap it tightly so air doesn’t get to the meat.
I need the recipe for the stone house seasoning please
Marge, if you click on the blue Stone House Seasoning link in the recipe or the link in this reply, it will take you to the recipe for the
Stone House Seasoning. Hope you enjoy!
Absolutely perfect! I was skeptical about a 45 minute roast time, but with the 15 minute rest , it worked. Definitely a keeper.
Thanks, Eileen. So glad you like the beef tenderloin recipe.
Dear Robyn,
I am not much of beef eater or preparer but I am thinking of trying your recipe for Christmas. Because of all the other things to make and the lack of oven space, can this tenderloin be prepared a day in advance and gently warmed up just before serving time? If possible would you recommend not slicing it util right before serving time? I would appreciate your insights!
Hi Sally,
I usually try to cook my sides ahead when preparing a big holiday meal and make sure I cook my beef in the best way possible since it’s usually the most expensive part of the meal – and the main course.
You could use slow cookers for sides, make twice baked potatoes – see my Make Ahead Christmas Menu for other helpful ideas.
If you absolutely need to cook the beef in another method, you could go to a big box store to purchase a roaster oven and cook the beef in it as another option.
Also, wait until serving to slice it. It will be the juiciest that way! Hope this helps!
xo
This recipe says to rub the seasoning all over the roast. I’m looking at the picture and it looks like much more than 1 T. of seasoning. Will it be Ok to put more than 1T? I would like a well-seasoned roast.
Thanks and I always LOVE your with.
-di
Meant to say that I LOVE your posts. Don’t know what happened!
Sure, Di. You can use a little more if you wish! Thanks so much!